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2010 Recruiting Update 11-25-08

The Board.

Added:
4 from Jim Stefani:
NJ OL Dante Weaver
TX DT De’Aires Cotton
FL RB Roy Finch
OH WR Jerald Robinson

New Information:
VA QB Phillip Sims. Fluff.
TX RB Lache Seastrunk. Closing in on his school’s all-time yardage record.
SC RB Marcus Lattimore. He already has 20 offers. Yeah, he’s kind of a big deal.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. One of the fluffiest articles in history.
OH DE/LB Jamel Turner. He didn’t grow up with a favorite school, and considers himself a “free agent.”
NC DE Prince Shembo. NC State has offered (info in header).

Removed:
SC DT Kelcy Quarles. South Carolina commit.

Etc.:
MI QB Devin Gardner and RB Nick Hill played each other in the playoffs. Gardner’s team won, and is going to the state championship game.

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Monday Presser Notes

Although I try to avoid simply repackaging notes from the press conferences into a post, as I think regurgitating information is next to useless, when there are Actual Facts instead of just soundbites, it’s worth it:

  • At this point, Brandon Graham is planning to return for his senior year.
  • Corey Zirbel’s injury is career-ending. He will remain with the team as a student assistant (scholarship count updated accordingly).
  • 7-8 players are expected to enroll early from the 2009 recruiting class, and the class should be around 23 guys (for the record, I have thought it would be bigger, but something tells me the head coach knows a little more than I do).
  • Western Michigan and Notre Dame have been known as non-conference opponents for some time now. Eastern will fill one of the other non-conference slots, and there is still an opening in the schedule.

Graham’s return would be huge; Zirbel’s non-return is unfortunate, but the team played without him this year and should continue improving; The recruits I can think of who have mentioned enrolling early so far are: Shav Beaver, Tate Forcier, Vincent Smith, Brandin Hawthorne, Anthony LaLota, Vlad Emilien, Mike Jones, and (if Michigan lands him) Will Campbell. That’s 8 guys right there.

The 2009 Schedule now looks like this:

Michigan Schedule 2009
Date Loc Opp Notes
September 5 Western Michigan Source.
September 12 Notre Dame Source.
September 19 Eastern Michigan
September 26 Indiana Homecoming
October 3 @ Michigan State
October 10 @ Iowa
October 17
October 24 Penn State
October 31 @ Illinois
November 7 Purdue
November 14 @ Wisconsin
November 21 Ohio State

Western and Notre Dame have set dates from outside sources. Rodriguez said the remaining open date is in October, which means that Eastern must be taking the final September date. The October 17th date will likely be filled with a cupcake.

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Blogpoll Preliminary Ballot: Week 13

Rank Team Delta
1 Alabama 1
2 Oklahoma 3
3 Texas
4 Florida
5 Texas Tech 4
6 Penn State
7 Southern Cal
8 Utah
9 Oklahoma State
10 Boise State
11 Georgia
12 Ohio State
13 Missouri
14 TCU
15 Oregon State 5
16 Cincinnati 3
17 Georgia Tech 6
18 Florida State 8
19 Boston College 7
20 Michigan State 5
21 Ball State
22 Iowa 4
23 Brigham Young 7
24 Pittsburgh 7
25 North Carolina 3

Dropped Out: Maryland (#18), Miami (Florida) (#24), California (#25).

Games Watched: Next to none, aside from the Michigan-Ohio State and Texas Tech-Oklahoma. I got bits and pieces of a bunch of other games though.

Questions: I have a hard time with how to rank #2-5, but I think the difference in home field advantage for Oklahoma and Texas against each other and Tech doesn’t diminish the fact that Tech was non-competitive against a team the Horns lost to. The bottom of the poll is something of a disaster right now, and I have no clue what to do with the ACC. Help me.

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Vladimir Emilien Goes Blue

Safety Vladimir Emilien of Plantation High School in Lauderhill, Florida has given his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Emilien is a 6-1 190-lb player who has been clocked at 4.50 in the 40-yard dash. He is a 3-4-star prospect to each recruiting site, and and marks Michigan’s 20th commitment in the class of 2009.

Player Notes
Emilien had a fairly impressive offer sheet prior to his commitment, and is known as a safety prospect who can play either position. He has good speed in the defensive backfield, and could excel under the tutelage of Mike Barwis. He has fairly good size as well, and will likely end up as a big run-supporting strong safety. Emilien has a good reputation of going 100% on every play, a good sign that he meets Rodriguez’s all-important criterion of “loves football.”

Recruiting Notes
Emilien was offered at the beginning of May, though it seemed even at that time that he was bound for Ohio State. All indications from the beginning of his recruitment showed that he was a heavy Buckeye lean. However, the OSU class filled up fairly quickly, and there was no longer room for him in the class of ’09. When Ohio State allegedly pulled an offer from one of their commitments following an off-field incident, it appeared as though Emilien’s break may have come. However, he never committed to the Buckeyes, and after the Michigan State game official visit, the Wolverines may have taken over the top spot in his mind. Originally planning to announce yesterday, Vlad delayed his decision until today, and picked Michigan over Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Stanford.

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Friday Night Lights 2009: November 23

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At the Finish Line

This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper.

When I woke up this morning I felt a draft in my normally warm apartment. I get up and look at the one big window I have. I pulled with blinds saw two baseball sized holes in the window. I look down at my feet and see a ton of broken glass. I didn’t want to think this was an omen.

The game itself was no different than most other games against good teams. Michigan stayed competitive for the first half and then couldn’t keep it up in the second. The game even started out identically to Northwestern: Stevie Brown takes an interception back inside the 10 and Michigan fails to get any points.

There were some flashes of what a mediocre team looks like. Michigan had a touchdown drive, something the team couldn’t do last year. The defense was lights out for most of the first two quarters. Before the post Pryor hit for a touchdown, I mentioned that Pryor doesn’t look that much better than Nick Sheridan.

At halftime I thought that Michigan had a chance. Then reality came and gave me a swift kick to the balls. I’m not angry at anything for OSU getting their fifth straight win over Michigan. I’m not torn up about a team that has more losses than any other team in the 129 years of Michigan football.

This season was bad. It was almost as bad as it could have been. Every time something was fixed with this team something else broke. Michigan was very close to being mediocre, but instead injuries and serendipity forced this team to bad. We all knew this was possible; we all knew this was somewhat probable. At this point, all we can do is put our heads down, take the jeers and wait for next year.

This isn’t something Michigan fans are used to. 2004 was a rebuilding year; so was 2006. Michigan has had such a run of continued excellence that people started mistaking excellence for mediocrity. I guarantee that Rich Rodriguez knows the difference between the two and knows that this team is neither. I also guarantee that Rich Rodriguez knows what it takes to move this team from where they are to where we all want them to be. He’s a winner, and the only way someone can become a winner is by winning. There’s no compelling, rational argument against his future success.

If you want to complain about the coaches, players or other fans, go ahead. If that’s what you need to do to make this season bearable, fine. Personally, I’m going to hold onto my rational hope, keep my head down and wait for next year. It can’t get any worse.

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Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings 11-22-08

Action since last rankings:
11-11-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Arby Fields.
11-12-08 Iowa gains commitment from Tyler Harrell.
11-14-08 Iowa gains commitment from Shane Dibona.
11-17-08 Illinois gains commitment from Tank Carradine.
11-18-08 Iowa gains commitment from Martin Hopkins. Iowa gains commitment from Joshua Brown.
11-19-08 Michigan gains commitment from Pearlie Graves. Northwestern gains commitment from Cooper Gerami.

Illinois is right on the heels of Penn State, despite having 5(!) fewer commits. I’d be surprised if they didn’t end up passing the Nittany Lions by the end of the year, assuming all the current commitments hold. Michigan pulls a little closer to Notre Dame. Indiana’s top commit, Jeremy Gainer, is now a soft verbal. Continued laughing at Purdue.

New Rankings:

#1 Ohio State – 24 commits
LB ***** Dorian Bell
RB **** Jaamal Berry
DE **** Melvin Fellows
CB **** CJ Barnett
WR **** James Jackson
MLB **** Storm Klein
MLB **** Jordan Whiting
RB **** Jordan Hall
OG **** Corey Linsley
OT **** Jack Mewhort
S **** Jamie Wood
WR **** Justin Green
RB **** Carlos Hyde
CB **** Corey Brown
WR **** Chris Fields
CB **** Dominic Clarke
WR *** Duron Carter
DE *** Jonathan Newsome
TE *** Reid Fragel
DT *** Adam Bellamy
FB *** Adam Homan
LB *** Zach Boren
OL *** Sam Longo
DT *** Johnny Simon
#2 Notre Dame – 17 commits
RB ***** Cierre Wood
WR ***** Shaquelle Evans
OL **** Chris Watt
RB **** Theo Riddick
DT **** Tyler Stockton
OL **** Alex Bullard
CB **** Marlon Pollard
LB **** Dan Fox
OL **** Zach Martin
LB **** Zeke Motta
S *** Nyshier Oliver
S *** EJ Banks
TE *** Tyler Eifert
MLB *** Carlo Calabrese
P *** Ben Turk
K ** Nicholas Tausch
TE ** Jake Golic
#3 Michigan – 19 commits
CB **** Justin Turner
QB **** Tate Forcier
QB **** Shavodrick Beaver
RB **** Fitzgerald Toussaint
WR **** Jeremy Gallon
OL **** Michael Schofield
DT **** DeQuinta Jones
DE **** Anthony LaLota
DE **** Craig Roh
DT **** Pearlie Graves
S *** Isaiah Bell
WR *** DeWayne Peace
RB *** Teric Jones
LB *** Jordan Barnes
S *** Mike Jones
LB *** Brandin Hawthorne
RB *** Vincent Smith
S *** Thomas Gordon
K ** Brendan Gibbons
#4 Michigan State – 16 commits
RB **** Edwin Baker
RB **** Larry Caper
SLB **** Chris Norman
OL **** David Barrent
WR **** Donald Spencer
DT **** Blake Treadwell
QB **** Andrew Maxwell
OL **** Nate Klatt
WR *** Dana Dixon
LB *** Tyquan Hammock
OL *** Micajah Reynolds
WR *** Patrick White
DE *** Dan France
LB *** Denicos Allen
WR ***
< /td>
Bennie Fowler
TE ** Derek Hoebing
#5 Penn State – 20 commits
OT **** Eric Shrive
CB **** Darrell Givens
DE **** Sean Stanley
S **** Derrick Thomas
S *** Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
S *** Malcolm Willis
C *** Ty Howle
CB *** Stephon Morris
WR *** Brandon Felder
OT *** Adam Gress
OL *** Nate Cadogan
RB *** Curtis Dukes
LB *** Glenn Carson
ATH *** Devon Smith
K *** Anthony Fera
QB ** Curtis Drake
OG ** Frank Figueroa
WR ** Christian Kuntz
OT ** Mark Arcidiacono
DE ** Garry Gilliam
#6 Illinois – 15 commits
DT **** Lendell Buckner
OT **** Leon Hill
QB **** Nathan Scheelhaase
RB **** Bud Golden
WR **** Terry Hawthorne
DE **** Craig Drummond
OL *** Andrew Carter
FB *** Greg Fuller
OL *** Hugh Thornton
DT *** Tank Carradine
WR ** Steve Hull
S ** Tommie Hopkins
CB ** Joelil Thrash
OL ** Jake Feldmeyer
LB ** Darryl Lee
#7 Wisconsin – 16 commits
DT **** Jared Kohout
DE **** Shelby Harris
DE **** David Gilbert
RB **** Montee Ball
LB *** Conor O’Neill
DE *** Tyler Dippel
OG *** Ryan Groy
QB *** Jon Budmayr
OT *** Zac Matthias
TE *** Brian Wozniak
MLB *** Chris Borland
OL *** Travis Frederick
LB *** AJ Fenton
WR *** Jeff Duckworth
OL ** Casey Dehn
S ** Jason Peprah
#8 Indiana – 16 commits
LB **** Jeremy Gainer
QB *** Edward Wright-Baker
DT *** Adam Replogle
WR *** Jamonne Chester
WR *** Duwyce Wilson
OL *** Charles Chapman
QB *** Dustin Kiel
OL *** Colin Rodkey
CB *** Lawrence Barnett
K *** Mitch Ewald
S *** Nick Zachery
S *** Demetrius Carr
S *** Ted Bolser
OL *** Pat McShane
S *** Kenny Watkins
DE ** Javon Cornley
#9 Minnesota – 14 commits
RB **** Hasan Lipscomb
WR **** Hayo Carpenter
QB *** Moses Alipate
C *** Ed Olsen
OT *** Josh Campion
WR *** Victor Keise
OL *** Brooks Michel
LB *** Kendell Gregory-McGhee
DB *** Kerry Lewis
TE *** Ra’Shede Hageman
DT *** Joey Searcy
DE *** Matt Garin
DE ** Nick Rengel
K ** Dan Orseske
#10 Northwestern – 13 commits
OL **** Patrick Ward
QB *** Evan Watkins
RB *** Mike Trumpy
DE *** Anthony Battle
LB *** Will Studlien
OL *** Taylor Paxton
DB *** Davion Fleming
RB *** Arby Fields
OL ** Brian Smith
WR ** Drew Moulton
LB ** Tim Riley
LB ** Tyler Scott
S * Cooper Gerami
#11 Iowa – 13 commits
WR **** Keenan Davis
RB **** Brandon Wegher
WR *** Jordan Cotton
FB *** Brad Rogers
OL ** Drew Clark
DT ** Scott Covert
OL ** Brett Van Sloten
TE ** Justin Lattimore
TE ** Anthony Schiavone
LB ** Tyler Harrel
LB ** Shane DiBona
LB ** Martin Hopkins
CB ** Joshua Brown
#12 Purdue – 10 commits
DT *** Eric McDaniel
DE *** Shayon Green
TE *** Gabrison Holmes
DE ** Trevor Foy
S ** Ishmael Aristide
WR ** Gary Bush
QB ** Rob Henry
WR ** Josh Johnson
DT ** Brandon Taylor
DB * Chris Quinn

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Ohio State

Can we go back to November 17, 2006? Let’s just forget everything that’s happened in the world of Michigan football since then. Just erase it and go from there. Forget The Game of the Century (of the Year). Forget the Rose Bowl. Forget the Mountaineers, the Ducks, even forget Lloyd’s last win, in the Capital One Bowl against Florida.

After a horrendous 2005 season, the calls for Lloyd Carr’s head came out. “He doesn’t have it anymore,” “he’s so boring,” “argh Terry Malone.” 2006 was Lloyd’s chance to shut them up, and shut them up he did.

In 2006, Michigan fans felt good. It started with a week 1 victory over Vanderbilt that wasn’t half as close as the score indicated. I remember after that game, poring over the Central Michigan-Boston College game that I had recorded, trying to glean any morsel of information I could about the Chippewas. After Lamarr Woodley and co. introduced Dan LeFevour to the Michigan Stadium turf four times, it was on to the game against Notre Dame.

We were all a little more naïve then, or perhaps more accurately, a little less jaded. I was still dumb enough to call Charlie Weis a “good coach” on WOLV-TV. Then, September 16th came. Paul and I loaded into my car early that morning. We got food on the way to South Bend, & documented the drive on the back of a McDonald’s placemat. After we arrived and reached our parking spot, we explored a bit. We saw the Irish March from their chapel to the stadium. The fans in South Bend were as confident as could be. Me? I was scared shitless.I never thought my beloved Wolverines stood a chance. All I had to hold onto was hope.

On the field a couple hours before gametime, I was terrified. As they went through warm-ups, the Irish were at least as confident as their fans. These Goliaths looked like they couldn’t be beat. As the game rolled around, thousands of people filled in the empty spaces around me, but I was still alone. If they knew that I was from Michigan, these beasts would eat me alive.

Through the first two quarters of the game, my nerves are evident from the game footage. It might has well have been an earthquake, though it was only my arms shaking. Though Michigan dominated the game, I feared a comeback the entire time. Until Lamarr Woodley picked up Brady Quinn’s fumble and ran into the endzone, I thought there was no way Michigan would emerge victorious. By the end of the game, however, I realized that I hadn’t been standing alone by myself all along. Mike was with me. Alan was with me. Mario was with me.

That smile never left my face. Blasting “The Victors” from my car stereo as we waited to get out of the parking lot. On the entire drive back to Ann Arbor, as Paul and I excitedly discussed just how good, exactly, this team might be. All night, as I celebrated with my friends back in Ann Arbor.

Can I have that feeling back?

The next few weeks were a blur, as Michigan’s defense destroyed opponents, and Mike DeBord did just enough to get away with a win. Michigan, for the first time since 1997, was in the national title hunt beyond September.

October 14 provided another roadtrip opportunity. We left for State College on Thursday night, so Danny could visit his girlfriend, a freshman at Penn State. By the time we got there, it was nearly midnight, so we dropped off our companions, explored the campus a bit, and paid way too much for one night in a hotel.

The next day, we were completely free from responsibility. We explored the town, bought Penn State gear (I’m an avid collector of any and all college merchandise), went for a ride on the Nittany Lion (a phrase which here means “sat on a stationary statue”), and generally took in the Penn State experience. It is at this time that I should probably recommend against going to an away game 40+ hours before it starts unless you have something or someone to see there, or are 21.

Paternoville was certainly an experience itself, and the atmosphere among the student body was awesome. Of course, a friendly PSU fan offered me a paper plate to tape over the Michigan decal on the back of my car, to avoid getting all my windows broken. After failing to find a random couch to stay on (are there even house parties at Penn State?), we found a parking lot, tilted the seats in my car back, and slept. When we woke up the next morning, we found my passenger seat permanently reclined. This was a bad omen.

Fortunately for us, Penn State’s media relations office had provided us with a parking pass. Unfortunately, their instructions on reaching the parking lot were something short of “subpar.” After finally dealing with myriad parking lot attendants, we left the car in the Black Lot and walked back to the dorms. Once there, we snagged something to eat and a couple of couches in a common room. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, catching up on sleep from the previous night, the games that we watched are kind of hazy. I remember seeing Indiana shock Iowa, diminishing the importance of our tilt against the Hawkeyes the following week. It was that much easier to focus on tonight’s game.

As we left the commons area, I stripped off my Penn State sweatshirt, under which I had been wearing a maize Michigan shirt all along. After revealing to the unwitting Nittany Lions all around me that I had been nothing more than a mole from the beginning, I became the recipient of all sorts of friendly trash talk, a phrase which here means “death threats.”

On the death march back to my car, one thing really struck me, the Penn State fans has no doubt that they would win this game. Perhaps it’s just a difference between the fan bases, but I think the general tailgating attitude in Ann Arbor is mortal fear (or this year, resignation), especially when facing a more-highly ranked team that didn’t get housed by Notre Dame (Zing!). If I could extract that excitement from their fan base without getting the asshole factor, I would certainly love to inject it into Michigan fans. There was no sense of entitlement, just excitement leading to confidence.

After arriving at the stadium (we were among the first people there, once again), I took photos of the completely empty stadium. Beaver may be one of the most minor league hockey-like venues in the conference (of course, it doesn’t hold a candle to Sparty’s eye lasers), but the facility itself is nothing short of impressive. The students started to filter in before the rest of the fans. This took place two hours before the game started. Every single one was wearing white. Are you taking notes Michigan students? Be more like that. Always.

The white-out was in full force. Again I was on the sidelines. This time, I knew I wasn’t alone. Mike, Adrian, and Alan were definitely there. Steve Breaston may have been the unsung hero of the game (as he was for much of the 2006 season). Though the defense played well, I managed to hear a spirited Ron English rip into them at halftime. They responded. Again, I was ecstatic on the drive home. This time, it was too long, and I was too tired to smile the whole way.

Blur. Iowa. Blur. Northwestern. Blur. Ball State… regretfully non-blur. Indiana. Blur.

Ohio State. The season. The national championship play-in game. #1 v. #2. Good v. Evil.

I went to Columbus on Thursday. Bo died Friday morning. I was glued to the TV all day. CNN had a birds-eye view of the charter buses pulling out of Schembechler Hall. In the dorm, Ohio State students were literally celebratin
g the death of Schmbechler, one of their own. If Woody disowned Bo (which he did publicly, but never privately), by His name, they would too. Come midnight, I watched several thousand OSU undergrads partake in their annual tradition of jumping in Mirror Lake.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. Nerves, adrenaline, anticipation. I stayed up all night. Eleven Swans literally moved me to the point of tears. Maybe I was just tired. But when I re-read it a year later, after watching a dismal, rainy beatdown in our own stadium, I cried again. If I were to read it today, I can guarantee I would cry again. Maybe the prose is just that beautiful, maybe it just recaptures my excitement from November 17, 2006, and I know now that it doesn’t have a happy ending. At that time, in that dorm room in Park Hall, I was still just a little naïve, I guess.

I “woke up” at 4AM, without having slept an instant. I was ready to go to GameDay. My cousin and her boyfriend didn’t want to get up and wait in line for something they had been to several times that year. Didn’t they realize I hadn’t had an opportunity to experience it? Didn’t they understand that this week was somehow different, more important? By 6AM I had dragged them out to the Shoe.

The actual goings-on at GameDay are of virtually no importance, except to note that, during a commercial break Chris Fowler specifically asked the OSU fans to show their class when he gave a eulogy of sorts for Bo Schembechler. Show their class they did, cheering the death of a man who had coached in Columbus for 6 years.

Several things happened after that, but let’s forget them. Forget 42-39, and the entirety of 2007. History lapses between November 18, 2006 and January 1, 2008. We can’t completely forget Utah, Notre Dame, Illinois, or Purdue. But they can’t help us now. Let’s start over, and fill in the gaps in history.

Beat the Buckeyes.

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Beilein Gets His Signature Win

Going into the game against UCLA, I figured it would be a idea to play a drinking game where you take a drink for every field goal made. For the first few minutes it looked like a good call as UCLA appeared to be creeping out to a big lead at 9-1. Then something weird happened.

The team last year at times looked confused in the 1-3-1 defense. They didn’t get to their spots in time, couldn’t recover on the swing. It looked like it wasn’t going to work. Against UCLA the 1-3-1 allowed Michigan to aggressively trap and force a ton of turnovers.

The hardest part about watching the Amaker years was the complete lack of fundamentals coaching, especially on the offensive end. Lazy passes, bad spacing, and no movement were the norm rather than the exception. In this game we saw great bounce passes to back-cutting players, exceptional spacing for our players to get to work, and good shooting from the outside. Beyond that, there were a lot of good shots that the players just couldn’t finish. Soon they’ll be able to get those shots to go down and we’ll have a very potent offense on our hands.

At the end of the game I was waiting for UCLA to come back and win. Being a Michigan fan, my experience in the recent past is often “get a glimmer of hope; get that violently beaten to death.” After UCLA made the 3pt shot to get it within one I could feel myself thinking “OK. This is it.” Then, Michigan was able to inbound the ball, not just to anybody, but to a very legitimate closer in “Manny” Harris (quick aside: is it weird that out of Corperryale Manny Harris it’s the Manny that gets the quotes?). I jumped up and started cheering. This was before Manny nailed the two free throws. From my years watching Amaker “coach” Michigan, I fully expected either a 5-seconds call or the ball being taken away on the inbounds. Instead, they got to Manny who got fouled with 4.6 seconds left. He walked to the line and sank two huge free throws like it was practice. UCLA gets a great inbounds pass almost all the way to half court and gets to the arc. The whole time I was yelling “foul him! for the love of all that is good and holy in this world foul him!’ Instead, Harris decides he’ll just block the attempt. Game over.

Sure, UCLA is probably overrated. They lost a ton of production last year, but they are still one of the better defensive teams out there and Michigan only had 10 turnovers. 10 turnovers to 15 assists against a team that usually plays lights out man-to-man defense. This team is turning the corner. I have no reason not to believe they have a shot at the tourney come March. If they can hang with and beat UCLA, there’s very few teams they don’t have a shot to beat. Before the UCLA game, I would have been happy with a barely above .500 season where the team looks good and hangs in tough against the big dogs, but now I think Michigan has a chance to do a lot of damage, especially in conference play once they get Lucas-Perry playing.

The kids seem like they believe they can make the Tournament. I know Beilein believes they can do it. They know a hell of a lot more about their chances then I do. So, I guess get ready for March Madness.

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Preview: Ohio State Buckeyes

God, this is going to hurt…

Michigan has been a disappointment this year without a doubt. However, their compatriots to the South have been something of a disappointment as well, though not to nearly the degree of the Wolverines. Ohio State entered the year returning nearly everyone off a team that had played for the national title the past two years, yet got destroyed in Los Angeles, and went down on their home turf to Penn State. that said, Michigan doesn’t stand a real chance…

Offense
Terrelle Pryor’s ascent took place a year earlier than expected, but take place it did. He is now the triggerman for Ohio State, and does just about everything from running to passing to just handing the ball off to Beanie Wells. Speaking of Wells, he’s done it all for Ohio State – on the rare occasion he was completely healthy. The two areas of weakness for the OSU offense are the wideouts and offensive line. The line has ranged from bad to mediocre all year, with brief forays into the area of “passable.” They are the most culpable party for each of Ohio State’s losses. Their pass blocking has improved since the USC game, helped in large part by Terrelle Pryor’s ability to move the pocket and escape pressure. However, the run blocking still leaves something to be desired, though Pryor and Beanie can make do with the holes that are opening up in front of them. The wideouts are talented but inconsistent, with problems ranging from drops to missed cuts.

Michigan’s defensive strength is the line, which should help them against OSU’s offensive weak point, the O-line. However, many schools have schemed to minimize Michigan’s advantage here (most frustratingly Toledo) with all manner of half-rollouts and quick passes, which are the strength of Pryor’s game, unfortunately. Ohio State also seems poised to attack Michigan’s weak safeties and linebackers. I’ve had nightmares for weeks thinking about the Wolverines’ poor tackling against the Buckeyes.

Defense
The Ohio State defense has been pretty good for most of the year, with a few notable exceptions. Those exceptions include USC, who simply had their way with OSU – on both sides of the ball – and teams with mobile quarterbacks, like Ohio and Illinois. Other teams have been able to move the ball on the ground against Ohio State, however. Through the air, Malcolm Jenkins and a rotating cast of nickel players have shut down opposing passing attacks.

Alas, Michigan has neither the plethora of talent that the Trojans boast, nor the mobile signal-caller of Ohio or Illinois. I don’t particularly fancy the though of Nick Sheridan slinging the ball into the teeth of that Buckeye secondary, either. This essentially boils down to Michigan’s only hope being a healthy Brandon Minor, and a host of short passes (many of them screens) and maybe a guest appearance by Justin Feagin running the zone-read. Ohio state has had their share of missed tackles this year, too, and strong running by the likes of Brandon Minor and Greg Mathews should result in some YAC.

Special Teams
This section hasn’t appeared in any previews so far this year, but the Ohio State special teams have been notable in their boom-or-bust characteristic (sounds familiar, no?). Of course, Ohio State’s ST units haven’t been as volatile as Michigan’s and have been much more heavy on the good things, like blocked punts and returns for touchdown.

Michigan’s main goal in this facet of the game is to not have a punt blocked, and not lose the ball on a return. Playing against a coach like Tressel, special teams play and changing field position should be a huge factor.

Predictions
Michigan’s only passing touchdown comes either in the first quarter or on a screen pass.
Stevie Brown intercepts a pass, but makes enough mistakes in coverage to make up for it.
Michigan keeps this one a little closer than the experts think, losing 31-17.

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